Preparation

This tea is excellent. The 25g sample I ordered had big flaky leaves that easily fell of the chunk of beeng I received. Nice long supple leaves on the edges of the cake. The first steeps brought a spicy and woodsy musk out of the gaiwan. Leathery, with golden tobacco, a bit of moss, and plenty of earthy spice. The flavor was similar, but buttery smooth. Velvet on the palate, with just enough astringency in the back of the throat for balance. This tea puts me right in an Alder bog amongst the Balsam Fir trunks, heavy with lichen and moss. A wet late spring morning in a copse of poplars flows into my mind. This is a beautiful tea.